Photographer's Note

Sakurajima , also romanized as Sakurashima or Sakura-jima, is an active composite volcano (stratovolcano) and a former island (now connected to the mainland) of the same name in Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption caused the former island to be connected with the Osumi Peninsula.

The volcanic activity still continues, dropping large amounts of volcanic ash on the surroundings. Earlier eruptions built the white sands highlands in the region.